Sidonius

Sidonius (* in the Rhône-Loire region; † after 580 ) was Bishop of Mainz . Sidonius came from a noble Aquitaine family.

Life

It is not known exactly when Sidonius became bishop. 566, however, he was the host of Venantius Fortunatus , who later immortalized Sidonius in verse. These show that Sidonius had been bishop of the Diocese of Mainz for a short time, perhaps since 565. These traditions are practically the only evidence of the important first franc on the Mainz bishopric.

Mainz had only recently come into the dominion of the Merovingian Franconian kings through the so-called Frankish conquest , whose most important representative Clovis I had been baptized around 498 and thus became the patron of the Roman Catholic Church in Franconia. When his successors Theuderich I and Theudebert I took on the important task of enforcing the resolutions of the Chlodwig Imperial Council of 511 and organizing the church in Franconia, they were happy to fill important bishoprics with Aquitanian clerics such as Sidonius.

In Mainz, Sidonius created the prerequisites for the later rise of the Mainz diocese to the archbishopric and capital of the largest metropolitan association .

He had a new cathedral and other new churches built and promoted knowledge of the Christian cult and the observance of the Christian faith such as B. the establishment of processional routes, the core of which existed until the late Middle Ages. The patron saints of the new churches ascribed to him remind of his Aquitaine origins Theomastus , Martin von Tours , Hilarius von Poitiers . According to the current state of research, the early Christian Franconian Episcopal Church of St. Martin is to be equated with the St. Mary's Church (today St. Johannis ) as a catechum church, but this is not yet archaeologically comprehensible.

With royal support, Sidonius was de facto city lord of Mainz and as such promoted the economy, built a fortification of the Rhine and took care of the poor.

literature

Friedhelm Jürgensmeier : The diocese of Mainz. From Roman times to the Second Vatican Council (= contributions to the history of the Mainz church. Vol. 2). Knecht Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1988, ISBN 3-7820-0570-8 .
Hans Werner Nopper: The pre-Bonifatian bishops of Mainz. A critical examination of the sources on the beginnings of the diocese of Mainz and the reliability of the lists of bishops. Nopper, Mülheim 2001, ISBN 3-8311-2429-9 .
Ekkart Sauser : Sidonius. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 10, Bautz, Herzberg 1995, ISBN 3-88309-062-X , Sp. 30-31. ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Individual evidence

↑ Eugen Ewig : The space between Selz and Andernach from the 5th to 7th century. In: From Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Current problems from a historical and archaeological point of view. Sigmaringen 1979 p. 291
↑ Ludwig Falck : From the Franconian period to the end of the 18th century. In: State Office for Monument Preservation Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate . Volume 2.2 .: City of Mainz - Old Town . In: Monument topography of the Federal Republic of Germany . 3. Edition. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 1997, ISBN 3-88462-139-4 , p. 15 ff.

predecessor	Office	successor
Maximus (?)	Bishop of Mainz 6th century	Sigimund

personal data
SURNAME	Sidonius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Bishop of Mainz
DATE OF BIRTH	5th century or 6th century
PLACE OF BIRTH	Rhône-Loire area
DATE OF DEATH	after 580

[1] Eugen Ewig : The space between Selz and Andernach from the 5th to 7th century. In: From Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Current problems from a historical and archaeological point of view. Sigmaringen 1979 p. 291

[2] Ludwig Falck : From the Franconian period to the end of the 18th century. In: State Office for Monument Preservation Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate . Volume 2.2 .: City of Mainz - Old Town . In: Monument topography of the Federal Republic of Germany . 3. Edition. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 1997, ISBN 3-88462-139-4 , p. 15 ff.